TROOP ZERO
A warm misfit adventure with adult-level content concerns.
Should You Watch It?
TROOP ZERO offers an entertaining, original story about friendship, sacrifice, respect, and the need for adult guidance. Its cast is a major strength, and the 1970s setting gives the film a nostalgic musical flavor.
The cost is significant for a family audience. The movie includes 29 obscenities, potty humor, slapstick violence, smoking, alcohol use, bullying, and brief gender-stereotype material. Its moral outlook and Christian elements are genuine, but the content rating means this is not a family-suitable choice for children or young teens.
Adults who can weigh those concerns may find a warm, funny story about misfits finding belonging. For family viewing, choose something else; for discerning adults, WORTH THE TRIP — ADULTS ONLY.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESIn 1970s Georgia, Christmas Flynn is fascinated by space and science. When she learns that a Birdie Scouts competition could lead to a recording for NASA’s Golden Record, she tries to join the local troop.
After the troop rejects her, Christmas gathers four other students to form a new troop of their own. They call themselves Troop Zero, recruit a leader, and work to earn the badges needed to enter the competition.
Is It Any Good?
Three stars means TROOP ZERO is entertaining and fresh, though its content limits its audience. The storyline is original, and the cast—including Viola Davis, Allison Janney, and Jim Gaffigan—is outstanding. The actors fit their characters well.
The music helps capture the 1970s setting, giving the movie a nostalgic quality. Its comedy and appealing cast make the adventure enjoyable, even as the objectionable content keeps it from being an easy family recommendation.
The Worldview
TROOP ZERO presents a strong moral outlook. It values friendship, sacrifice, respect for others, fatherhood, and the need for adult guidance in a child’s life. It also includes overt Christian elements: a character prays for God’s guidance, carries balloons saying “Jesus saves,” and references the Gospel.
The film’s treatment of gender stereotypes introduces a different set of ideas. Characters play with toys and receive rewards for things that normally pertain to the opposite gender, and one boy receives a hairstyling badge and is called “Sparkles.” The source review also describes the boy as possibly homosexual. These moments are brief and comical but may concern Christian viewers.
At its center, the film longs for friendship, belonging, and guidance. Scripture teaches, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil” (Ecclesiastes 4:9).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements
Strong moral worldview, with strong Christian elements, promotes sacrifice, friendship, treating others with respect, fatherhood, the need for adult guidance in a child’s life, a character prays to God for guidance and holds a handful of balloons saying “Jesus saves,” references to the Gospel, and a character is named Christmas, plus brief, comical politically correct moments where characters play with toys and get rewarded for things that normally pertain to the opposite gender, and a boy who may be homosexual gets a hairstyling badge
Foul Language
29 obscenities (including a main character is named He**-no, which bumps up the foul language count), a group of children urinate themselves in one scene to show “solidarity” with another character who’s a “bed wetter”, a character vomits, and a character passes gas
Violence
Some slapstick comedy such as falling, shoving, roughhousing, and a food fight
Sex
No sex
Nudity
No nudity
Alcohol Use
Some alcohol use
Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse
Smoking but no drugs;
Miscellaneous Immorality
Narcissism and some bullying.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
Christmas and her friends form a troop after being rejected. How can friendship help people respond to loneliness or exclusion?
Ecclesiastes 4:9–10 · Romans 12:15–16The film values sacrifice and treating others with respect. Where might respect require you to give up comfort or popularity?
Philippians 2:3–4 · Romans 12:10A character prays for God’s guidance. When do you need wisdom, and how can you seek it?
James 1:5 · Proverbs 3:5–6What does healthy adult guidance look like in a child’s life?
Proverbs 22:6 · Ephesians 6:4The Final Word
TROOP ZERO is fresh, funny, and morally serious, with Christian elements that give its misfit adventure a generous heart. But its foul language, potty humor, slapstick violence, and other concerns make it unsuitable for children and young teens. For discerning adults, the answer is WORTH THE TRIP — ADULTS ONLY. For a family alternative, see.
